I reviewed the Japanese science-fiction novel Loups-Garous for Innsmouth Free Press today. What struck me about this book was the great characterization of the teenage heroines who were well-defined and interesting. I think many books, movies and TV shows tend to portray teenagers as annoying, self-absorbed creatures that we have little sympathy for. Witness the newest incarnation of V, or the old one for that matter. The character of Tyler is completely annoying.
The girls in Loups-Garous do much better and even if they are not perfect, and do have their odd and sometimes irritating quirks, I found them to be a good example of teenagers that work. I recommended it for teenagers and parents of teens that want to discussing some interesting sci-fi with their kids.
Filed under: Words on July 8th, 2010 by silviamg
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As you may know, if you live in British Columbia, beginning on July 1, 2010 we moved from paying PST and GST, to paying one lump tax called HST (12 percent). However, there are some items that are “exempt”, which means instead of paying the full 12 percent, you pay only 5 percent at the till through a point-of-purchase discount. One of the items on the exemption list is books (not newspapers or magazines, which must pay the full 12 percent).
Well, today I went to the Chapters at Cambie and Granville and bought two books. Not magazines, not newspapers. Two books. I was in a rush to head back to the office after lunch, so I didn’t check my receipt until later, when I discovered I had been dinged extra at the cash register instead of 5 percent.
Upon realizing this, I headed back to the bookstore. The cashier called the manager and it was confirmed: I was right. The manager refunded me my dollar and change, and off I went.
The problem is this: it’s been seven days since the HST was implemented and apparently Chapters (or at least this Chapters in Vancouver) has either not noticed or been unable to fix the glitch. If I hadn’t checked my receipt and known about HST exemptions, I would have never noticed.
The manager had no idea why the software was behaving the way it was and said she hadn’t noticed a problem until I pointed it out.
This underscores the need to check your receipts and be a savvy consumer, but if there is a glitch, there is also an onus on Chapters to fix the glitch and inform their customers of what happened. Still, I got my dollar back and all is well with the world. I’m sure it was a freak anomaly but check your receipts until the HST-routine normalizes.
Filed under: Words on July 7th, 2010 by silviamg
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If you are tired of Edward sparkling in the sunlight, may I tempt you to meet some Mexican vampire drug-dealers who definitely do not sparkle? My story “Weekday” has been released by M-Brane SF, and it’s a science-fiction and vampire tale. This is also the setting for the second novel I’m working on, titled (for now) Blood Week.
My first novel Proper People, a magic-realist historical story set in Mexico City, is undergoing revisions this month and next month, hoping to send it out to find a home by the fall.
Filed under: Words on July 1st, 2010 by silviamg
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“Jaguar Woman” appeared in the pages of Shimmer last year. Now you can listen to it at PodCastle. In other news, “Weekday” sold to M-Brane SF and is scheduled to appear in issue 18 on July 1.
Other recent sales: finally sold “This Strange Way of Dying”, my Mexican Revolution story set during the Decena Tragica, to the new zine GigaNotoSaurus. This marks the first time I’ve had to submit the original, longer draft, as opposed to being asked to shave some words off the manuscript. Really pleased with this sale.
Also pleased that I sold a reprint that will appear in translation.
Filed under: Words on June 28th, 2010 by silviamg
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Our special, multiethnic issue of Innsmouth Free Press is available online. Authors in this issue include World Fantasy Award-winning editor Ekaterina Sedia, Charles R. Saunders of Imaro fame, and many others. Cover art is by Cyril Van Der Haegen.
We have also launched our R’lyeh or Bust! campaign. We are trying to raise $1,400 to pay for a new website design and the associated costs incurred with running the website. Please, please, please donate, even if it is only five or ten dollars. Every dollar counts and we need the money if the Innsmouth Free Press is to continue to exist.
Filed under: Words on June 6th, 2010 by silviamg
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